In early February,
After shedding its Russian operations and severing all of its ties to
"YNV will be completely disconnected from
YNV's ambition is to build a leading European developer of AI services and solutions, headquartered in
What will YNV be doing?
Under the asset sale agreement, YNV (which will be rebranded after the transaction completes) will focus on several areas, all of which are connected to artificial intelligence. Specifically, these areas are:
● self-driving cars and delivery robots
● AI cloud computing
● machine learning and data labelling
● ed-tech.
In the area of self-driving tech, YNV had started to expand successfully in
People as the main asset
After the sale, what YNV is left with is a team of about 1,300 employees, of whom about 1,100 are senior tech engineers and a world-class data centre in Mäntsälä,
Currently, YNV's employees are spread across various countries, but the company plans to have the largest presence – of roughly 500 people by the end of the year – in
Meanwhile, Yandex co-founder and former CEO
Focusing on AI-based tech
YNV already has several projects centred around AI: Nebius AI, an AI cloud platform that is one of the largest providers of GPU capacity in
Nebius AI
This is an AI-centric cloud platform that offers robust infrastructure and computing capacity for seamless AI deployment and solutions based on machine-learning. Nebius AI owns
Toloka
Toloka AI offers data-for-GenAI solutions at all stages of the GenAI lifecycle, from data annotation and generation, model training and fine-tuning, to quality assessment of LLMs for accuracy and reliability. Toloka AI’s solutions leverage both AI-powered auto labelling and human expert input to ensure quality and optimized cost.
TripleTen
With its more than 15 years of experience preparing specialists in the science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) field, TripleTen provides education in in-demand tech skills in software engineering, data science, BI analytics and quality assurance. TripleTen has over 60 partner employers worldwide, while its programs combine bootcamp & massive open online course (MOOC) formats and promote inclusivity in IT for individuals from underrepresented groups. TripleTen's main markets are expected to be the
Avride
YNV's self-driving car division is one of the world's leading developers of self-driving tech, with self-driving projects successfully piloted in
Avride’s core product portfolio includes an autonomous fleet and delivery robots designed for various transportation scenarios such as ride-hailing, logistics, e-commerce, and food/grocery delivery.
Avride's ambition doesn't stop at passenger transportation services, the company says, adding that it is continuously leveraging its team's talent and innovation to develop delivery robots that promise to redefine the logistics industry. "We are already helping our partners across different countries, from
"The best way to build value"
Currently, YNV’s shareholders are mainly based in the US,
A significant amount of that cash will be distributed among the existing shareholders, while the rest will be invested in YNV's operations.
At the moment, all of the company's core businesses generate revenue, but new commercial and revenue generating possibilities are expected to grow significantly once the divestment process is complete.
The company continues to invest in all of the businesses, and is expected to seek new investors and sources of funding in due course. The company will not raise money in
"The Russian assets are being sold at a significant discount, but we believe this is the best deal that could be achieved in the current environment,” the source said. A number of other international companies have already seen their assets in
Russian Yandex' new owners
Meanwhile, the list of new owners of Yandex' Russian assets includes, apart from oil giant Lukoil, several little-known companies, which, according to a report in the Russian online magazine The Bell, could represent the interests of other individuals.
Yandex' new owners are:
Argonavt, owned by Lukoil
Infinity Management, a firm owned by venture investor
Meridian Service, a company owned by
IT.Elaboration, a firm own by obscure entrepreneur
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